James Maddison needs to use his Carrow Road return to push his claim for a place in the England squad – but must remain patient, says U21s boss Aidy Boothroyd.

The playmaker has adjusted to the demands of the Premier League quickly since leaving Norwich City for Leicester in a deal worth in excess of £20million this summer.

That has lead to talk of a full international call-up for the reigning Canaries player of the year but Boothroyd, a former City academy coach, thinks that is premature.

“I don’t think he is ready for the senior team, yet,” said Boothroyd, whose U21 squad take on the Netherlands at Carrow Road on Thursday night. “But he certainly has got a lot of qualities.

“He is very creative and he’s done really, really well for us. He’s a late developer, if you look at his pathway he’s played in Scotland, League Two, League One, the Championship and now the Premier League.

“He’s done the steps and got the games under his belt. He is on our radar in the U21s and he’s on the senior’s radar.

“Gareth is well aware of him, in fact he saw at the weekend when he was at game against Liverpool. We speak regularly about all our players.

“We’ve got an idea of who is out there, who is doing well and who might need a little bit of help.”

Maddison and former Norwich team-mate Angus Gunn – who joined Southampton in a £13.5m this summer – are both in the Young Lions squad for the European U21 Championship qualifier.

While Gunn has only made one cup appearances for the Saints so far, Maddison is already starting regularly at Leicester, scoring once and setting up another in four games and being named man of the match after the 2-1 loss at Liverpool on Saturday.

Also speaking to Sky Sports, the former Canaries star said: “I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, I’ve only played four games in the Premier League,” he said. “But it is a dream of mine to play for England, it always has been since I was a very young boy.

“Gareth has obviously done a brilliant job. We’ve got such a young squad with so much talent, it’s a good time to be an England player.

“Hopefully I can keep impressing with my club and the U21s and we’ll see where it goes.”

If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the Eastern Daily Press. Click the link in the yellow box below for details.

This newspaper has been a central part of community life for many years, through good times and bad, serving as your advocate and trusted source of local information. Our industry is facing testing times, which is why I’m asking for your support. Every single contribution will help us continue to produce award-winning local journalism that makes a measurable difference to our community.